Hemstitch machine



Jan. 19 1926.

- M. H. PREZ HEMSTITGH MACHINE Filed oct. 11, 1923- 2 sheets-sheet 1TCE-..15

ce Q '.Q, ATTORNEY.-

Jan. 19 1926.

M. H. PREZ HEMSTITCH MACHINE Filed Oct. 11,

1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Illu/ll Q l I ATTORNEY.

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Patented Jan.. 19, 1926.

imminentl HUMBERTO PREZ, or SAN PEDRO sULA, HONDURAS.

To' all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, MANUEL HUMBERTO PREZ, a citizen ofthe Republic ofHonduras, residing at San Pedro Sula, in the Department of Cortez andRepublic of Honduras, have invented new and useful Improvements inHemstiteh Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines, forY producing hemstitching, loropen-work stitching, such as is used on handkerchieis, bed and tablelinen, etc., and for producing other work of like general nature,linwhich machines combined reciprocatory and/laterally vibratory oroscillatory needles arek eln- `ployed in conjunction with a piercer foropening up the cloth. More particularly my invention relates to amachine of this character employing two needlesy adapted to be spreadand adjusted toward and from l eachother for a variable spreading actionto regulate the distance between the stitches made thereby. The novelstructural features embodying my invention are particularl'y designedfor use.. upon 'two-needle hemstitch machines of the Singer type ingeneral use, although equally well adapted for application to machinesof other makes.

One object of the invention is to provide simple, reliable andeliicientmeans for controlling the piercer and needles, and which considerablyreduces the number of parts required -for'the purpose ascompared withprior machines.

' Another object of the invention is to provide means, of a novel andimproved character, whereby the working motion of the piercer and thespreading action of the needles may be regulated as desired to vary thesizes of the openings formed in the fabric and to regulate the stitchingoperation accordingly.

Still another object ofthe invention is to provide novel and improvedmeans for projecting and retraeting the piercer at proper time periods.

Still another object of the invention is to provide' needle controllingmechanism, which may be adjusted or set by the operator, to varythespreading motion ofthe needles, and to permit oftheir lateralvibration or oscillation, for producing openings of any one of aplurality of number of sizes in the fabric.

lStill another object of the invention is to provide a piercerautomatically governed by Application filed October 11, 1923. Serial No.667,953.

` HEMSTITCH MACHINE.

the degree of 'spreading' motion of the needles to regulate its depth ofpenetration into the fabric and the size ofthe opening formed thereby. ls 1 Vith these and other objects in view,fthe invention consists of thefeatures of construction, combination and arrangement of parts,hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being Vhad to theaccompanying drawings, in which f Figure lisa vertical front-to-rearsection, with parts in elevation, taken substantially on the plane ofthe needle bar,

' through a portion of the machine head and bed-plate and showing theinvention asapplied for use, with parts in normal or retracted position.

Figure 2 is a'iront elevationof the piercer carrying bar, showing thepiercer and its plunger actuating leverapplied thereto.

Figure 3 is a horizontal transverse section taken on line 3 3 of Figure1.

Figure 4 is a transverse section on line 4 4 o f Figure 1, showing thelparts in normal position.

Figure 5 is a view. in side elevation ot parts shown in Figure 4,showing the needles on their' downward working motion and spread bytheaction of the spreader.

Figure 6 is a vertical transverse section on line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a rear elevation of the needle carrying head.

Figure 8 is a sectional view similar to Figure 3 with the parts in theposition shown in Figures 5 and 6.

Figure 9 is a section on line 9-9 of "Figure 3.

Figures 10 and l1 are perspective views of the loose 'and fixed ratchetdisks of the needle spacing mechanism.

Y Figure 12 is a detail section on line 12-12 of Figure 1.

Figure 13 is a top plan view ofthe work plate.

Figure 14 is a spreader detached from its supporting arm.

z Figure 15 is a vdetail section on line 15-15 of'. Figure 1.

Referring new more particularly to the drawings, in which I have shownonly such parts ofthe general machine structure as are necessary to adisclosure of my invention, 1.

side elevation of theA Las catory piercer-carrying bar, 5 the piercer,and 6 the bed plate of the machine. rthe bed plate 6 carries the workplate 7 having the slots 8 in which the feeddogs operate and providedwith a needle aperture 9. Depending from the plate 7 is a needle guide10 provided with a stationary wedge-shaped needle spreader 11, andgrooved on opposite sides, as indicated at 12, for the guidance of theneedles held spaced by the spreader 11 for cooperation with the loopersarranged below the bed plate 6.

The needles 8 are respectively held in blocks 13, and these blocks arepivotally mounted upon a carrier head 14 as indicated at 15, so as topermit the needles to move outwardly and inwardly with relation to eachother to regulate the distance between them, springs 16 on the blocksand engaging the head being provided to normally force the needlesinwardly and hold them substantially in abutting relation. A pin 17 isprovided on each needle block for movement in an elongated slot 18 inthe carrier head to limit the inward and outward movement of the needlecarried thereby. One of 'these pins 17 carries a contact head 19, for apurpose hereinafter described. The head 14; is provided with a shank S20fitting within a socket in the lower end of the needle carrier bar 2 andsecured thereto by a set screw Vthreaded at its upper end to receive theheaded portion 28 of a guide yoke, secured in position thereon by a nutQ9, said yoke including arms 3() extending downwardly in rear of the arm27 and slidably engaging the same to guide the rod l5 in its movements.The needle carrier rod is mounted to reciprocate in the head frame 1, toactuate the needles 3 on their up and down movements in the usual way,the needles passing downward through the `aperture 9 in the work plate 7and on opposite. sides of the spreader 11 for coaction with the looperdevices for producing the desired stitching. The piercer-carrying barlis also mounted for reciprocating motion in the head frame 1. but has alimited degree of reciprocating motion only, suthcient only to raise andlower it with respect to the work plate 7 in timed accord with theneedles to permit proper motion of the latter. Then the piercer is'depressed between working motions 'et the needles, into position topass through the cloth resting upon the work plate, it is positivelyforced downward through the fabric by motion received from the needlecarrier bar. To this end an L- shaped plunger actuating lever 31 isprovided, having a horizontal arm 32 pivoted to the rod 1, as indicatedat 33, and having an upright arm 34 carrying a spring projected trip dog35, carrying a tooth 36 projecting forwardly through an opening 37 inthe lever arm Slt and terminating in a beveled or undercut lip 38. Thenthe parts are in normal position, as shown in Figure 1, the tooth 36underlies the contact 19 on the needle carrier head and is adapted to beengaged by said Contact to force the lever 3 downward, the lower edge ofthe horizontal arm of which will engage and depress the plunger rod 25and its actuating yoke against the resistance of a lifting sning 25 thusforcing the piercer 5 downwardly through the fabric. The lever 31normally rests lightly on the plunger rod 25 and has a variable range ofmovement under the action of contact 19 to depress the plunger rod andpiercer to a greater or less extent. As the needles descend, it will beunderstood that the contact 19 will engage the tooth 3G until saidtooth, through the are of motion of the lever arm 34, passes laterallyout of line with contact 19, whereupon the downward motion of the lever31 and the piercer will cease, and the spring 25 will litt the piercerand its actuating parts to normal position. On the subsequent upwardmovement of the needles the conta 't 19 will engage the beveled lip 38of the tooth 3G, which will be pressed back in the slot 37 to allow saidcontact 19 to pass upwardly to normal position, the spring action of thedog then returning the tooth 36 to working position beneath the contact19, as will be readily understood.

r,The needles, as stated, are capable of a spreading motion lo a greateror less extent, in which spreading motion the contact 19 is movablelaterally to the extent allowed by the associated limitation slotI 18.When the pin 17 carrying the contact 19 is at the inner end of the slot,the contact 19 will engage the tooth 36 adjacent to the inner edge ofthe latter, and hence the contact 19 will clear the tooth on a small arcof movement of lever arm 3-1, depressing the piercer to a limiteddegree. As the needles are spread` wider apart, the pin 17 carryingcontact 19 will move outward to a correspondingly greater degree in theslot 18, and hence the contact 19 will be laterally adjusted with'relation to the upper surface of tooth 36, so as to require a greaterarc of movement of the lever arm 34 before the contact 19 passes out ofengagement with the tooth 36. Through this automatic adjustment of thecontact laterally across the tooth 3G, as the needles are adjusted togreater or less degrees apart, the time period of engagement of thecontact 19 with the tooth 36 will be varied, with 7 the effect ofdepressing t-he lever 31 to a greater or less extent, andcorrespondingly causing the piercer to be forced into the fabric to agreater or less degree, proportionate to the degree of spreading motionof the needles. Thus as the needles are spread for a stitching action inconnection with openings of progressively increasing sizes, the piercerwill be` forced downwardly to increasing degrees to make correspondingiysized openings in the fabric, as will be understood. l

Controlling mechanism is provided for spreading the needles to anydesired degree, and to regulate the lateral vibratory or oscillatorymotions thereof iii their working actions. This mechanism comprises aspreader block 39 having a wedge-shaped surface 40, and adjustable tomove said wedge-shaped s urface inwardly and outwardly with, relation tothe space between bosses 41 on the forward ends of the pins 17, wherebythe needle carrier blocks may be spread against the resistance ofsprings 16 and held spread onthe working motions of the needles. Theblock 39 is carried by a supporting arm 42 vand is provided adj acentits lower end with a guide pin 43 slidably engaging` an opening 44 inthe lower end of said arm. At its upper end the block 39 has fixedthereto an inner shaft or Vstem 45 upon the inner end of which isloosely mounted Va revoluble ratchet sleeve or disk 46 and te which .isfeathered for sliding motion thereon a relatively stationary ornon-rotatable coacting ratchet sleeve or disk 47. The ratchet disk 46 isprovided with an annular series of contact spokes or arms 48 and on itsinner side is formed with a pair of cam projections 49, while theratchet sleeve or disk 47 is provided, on its side facing saidprojections 49, with an annular series of deep ratchet grooves 50 andshallow ratchet grooves 51, the grooves of the series being arranged insuccessive working sets, consisting each of two deep grooves 50 followedby a single shallow groove 51. The contact spokes or arms 48 arearranged to be successively brought into the path of movement of apivoted striker 52 carried by a supporting arm 58 on the needle carrierhead or needle carrier bar, said striker having a beveled outer endport-ion 54, a stop lug 55 adapted for engagement with arm 53 to limitits downward movement, and normally held depressed and in workingposition by a spring 56.

The arm 42 is provided with a passage 57 through which the shaft or stem45 eX- tends, and slidably and rotatably fitted in said passage is anouter shaft or sleeve 58:, through the bore of which the inner shaft orstem 45 extends. The sleeve 58 abuts at its inner end against theratchet collar 47 and has an outer end portion provided with flattenedsurfaces 59 on which arevmounted a beveled gear 60 and an indicator diskor dial 6l disposed in a bifurcated portion or recess 62 formed in thearm 42. Said gear 60 and disk 61 have their center bores formed withfiattened surfaces to engage said flattened surfaces 59, to adapt themto be slidably engaged with and disengaged from the sleeve 5S and to belocked to said,

sleeve to positively turn therewith. rThe indicator dial or disk 61 isprovided on itsV with a beveled gear 67 meshing with the gear 60 and atits outer end with a handl wheelf68,.whereby, through reverse rotationsof the shaft the sleeve 58 may be rotated in one direction or the otherand caused vto move inwardly and outwardly, and whereby the indicatordial or disk 61 will be rotated therewith. A washer 69 is fitted on theshaft 45 and bears against the outer end of the sleeve 58 to hold saidsleeve fixed against longitudinal movement between the ratchet disk 47and said washer 69, and disposed on the outer end of the shaft, betweensaid washer 69 and a washer 70 is a coiled spring 71, the washer 70being held .inposition by a securing and adjusting nut 72, whereby saidspring is adapted to be tensioned. The spring 71 is adaptedV by itsexpansive energy to normally slide the shaft 45 outwardly and maintainthe ratchet disk 46 in engagement with the ratchet disk 47, whilepermitting the ratchet tooth surfaces of said disks to lhave relativeinward and outward movement, so as to adapt the disk 46 to rotate withrelation to the disk 47. rlhe arm 42 is carriedvby a bracket member 73mounted on the head frame 1, said bracket member being pro vided withspaced eyes 74 receiving between them an eye 75 on the upper end of arm42, one of said eyes being threaded to receive an adjusting and clampingscrew 76.

`Theeyes 74 are adapted to spread slightly by their resiliency to admitthe eye 75, and then to be tightened by the screw 76 to clamp the eye 75between them. lhen the screw 76 is loosened the arm 42 and parts carriedthereby may be swung vupwardly to an inoperative position, so as to,permit access to be obtained without interference to the needle head andcoacting parts. A locking pin or stud 77 carried by the eye 75 isprovided to engage sockets or recesses 78 and 79 in the relatively liXedeye, on a clamping movement of the eyes 74, to respectively lock the arm42 in its lower operative position and in its upper inoperativeposition. When the arm 42 is swung upwardly, the spreader 39, stem 45,sleeve 58, and the ratchet members 46 and 47 applied thereto, may beremoved as a unit from the arm 42 upon the disconnection of the parts69, 70, 7l and 72, upon removal ot which the parts G0 and (il may bedetached, and said parts may be applied to the arm 42 by slipping theminto position in an obvious manner and setting them ttor operation byapplication of the parts (59 to 72, inclusive, thus adapting the needlespreading and controlling mechanism to be readily and convenientlyassembled upon the machine and disassembled Jfor cleaning, repairs,replacements or other purposes.

ln the loperation ot the machine, with the parts disposed in the normalposition shown in Figure 1, it will be understood that at l thebeginning of the working movement the bars 2 and 4 will move downwardlyunder operation of the actuating mechanism on the machine head, thc bar4 having a limited. downward movement and terminating when the point otthe piercer 5 is brought in position to engage the cloth, while the bar2 continues its downward movement for the passage of the needles downthrough the cloth. The needles are set for action, by spreading them toa greater or less distance apart, by inward adjustment ot the spreaderblock 39, whose wedge surface is entered between the bosses 4l to agreater or less dcgree. Hence as the needles tra-vel downwardly theywill be held spread a specified distance apart so as to pass downwardthrough the opening 'formed by the piercer in the cloth. Before theneedles enter the cloth, however, the contact member 19 on theneedle-carrying head engages the tooth 36 of dog 35, depresses the leveril so as to actuate the piercer 5, and then moves out ol contact withthe dog to permit the piercer to be withdrawn by the action et itsretracting` spring 25. Three complete reciprocating movements ot theneedle are necessary to complete a stitch. On the tirst downwardnaivement ot the needles, at which time the projections 49 oi ratchetdisk 46 engage one pair or deep notches ot disk 4i", the needles passdownward through the formed opening in the cloth, the striker trippingover the under'- lying pin 48 on this motion, so that the position otratchet disk 46 remains unaffected. @n the ensuing upward motion of theneedles, striker 52 engages a pin 4S lying in its path and gives ratchetdisk 46 a quarter turn, causing its projections 49 to engage a pair ofthe shallower grooves 5l in disk 47, thus pushing the spreader bar 39inwardly to a greater' extent and spreading the needles to a greaterdegree. On the second down stroke, therefore, the needles will form theoutside punctures beyond the cloth opening preparatory to the finalaction in which the needles more inwardly to their original postion andagain pass down through the opening in the cloth. On the upward motionof the needles, after carrying the thread down through the outsidepunctures, the striker arm 52 engages a pin 48 and again turns theratchet disk 46 to bring its projections 49 into engagement with anotherpair oi' the deeper notches 50, thus restoring the spreader 39 tooriginal position, so that on its Vfinal stitch forming motion, inconjunction with the loopers operating beneath the bed 6 in the usualmanner, the needles in normally spread condition will pass down throughthe opening in the cloth. It will thus he seen that by means et theadjustable spreader 39, which is adjustable to a variety ot positionsthrough the adjusting gearing on the arm 42, the degree of spreading action et the needles t'or a stitching action in connection with formedopenings of various sizes may be regulated, and such position accuratelydetermined by the indicator dial or disk (3l, and that by means ot thestriker and ratchet adi usting mechanism described, the needles will beadapted, on any otl their spreading adjustments, to be laterallyoscillated or vibrated to a lined degree for the production of stitchesin cooperation with the usual looper mechanism. The invention thusprovides a means whereby any deter mined spreading action oi? theneedles may be obtained, and whereby, through associated mechanism, aproper prescribed vibratory motion of the needles may also be secured.lt will be apparent that the mechanism for producing these results issimple, and capa le of ready and convenient operation, for any gageneedle working action, and that the spacing' adjustment may beaccurately gaged and determined through the medium of the indicatordescribed. The construction disclosed for the purpose not only gives agreater range of spreading adjustments tor the needles than has beenpossible here totore, but also materially reduces the number of partsrequired lor the operation ot the piercer and needles, as compared withprior machines. The mode of mounting the arm 42 and the parts thereonalso adapts the controlling mechanism to be moved into and out ofworking position, and also permits the parts thereof to be readily andconveniently assembled and disassembled, thus enabling any ot theworking parts to be conveniently reached for adjustment, cleaning,

repairs, replacements and all other pur-l poses.

While the piercer-carrying rod 4 is described as mounted on the machinehead l, and shifted upwardly and downwardly by the driving mechanism inthe head, this is not necessary, as under some conditions the rod t maybe fixed and the piercer 5 simply positioned so that it may be properlydepressed through the medium of its actuating` lever 3l and raised bythe action of its retracting spring 25, on ensuing up and down movementsor the needle mechanism, as will be readily understood.

`While the invention is particularlv adapted for application upon theWell known Singer two-needle hemstitch machine in general use, I do notlimit it to such application, as it may be employed on other maires oitmachines of the same character. I also do not limit myself to anypartciulaii type of' machine mechanism generally for actuating theneedles and other working parts ot the machine, as I may employ the samemechanism as that used on the Singer 'machine referred to, or an \vmachine of equivalent type.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim:

l. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism including reciprocatory andoscillatory needles, a piercer actuated by said needle mechanism, aneedle spreader, mechanism for advancing and retracting the spreaderbetween fixed normal advanced and retracted positions, and means foradjusting the spreader to vary its fixed advanced and retractedpositions, said spreader advancing and retracting mechanism operating`in each cycle of action on the initial downward movement of the piercerand needles to leave the spreader in set normal retracted position, onthe ensuing upward motion of the needles to move the spreader to fixedadvanced needle spreading position, on a second downward movement of theneedles to maintain the spreader in needle spreading position, on theensuing upward movement of the needles to retract the spreader on thethird downward movement of the needles to maintain the spreader inretracted position, and on the final upward movement of the needles tostill maintain the spreader in retracted position while re-setting thespreader advancing and retracting mechanism for a repetition of theallieve-described, operation.

2. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism including reciprocatory andoscillatory needles, a piercer, a needle spreader, a means forperiodicallyv moving the .needle spreader, means for varying the workingaction of the needle spreader c spread the needles to different degreesin the spreading action thereojt', and means operative for depressingthe piercer to di; degrees dependent upon the degree of spreading motionof the needles by the spreader.

3. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism including reciprocatory andoscillatory needles, a movable automatically retractible spreader, andmechanism for shifting the spreader to needle 'spreading position andreleasing it for retraction at predetermined periods, said mechanismembodying a springpressed sliding but nonrotatable member and arotatable member, said members being provided with surfaces operatingalternately in the rotation of said rotatable member to move thespreader to needle spreading position and release it for retraction, andmeans operative in the reciprocations of the needles for impartingperiodic partial revolutions to said rotatable member.

4. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles movablysupported by the bar for adjustment toward and from each other, aslidably mounted wedge variably adjustable in a horizontal plane towardand from and between the needles to vary the spacing of the needles, andmeans operative automatically on alternate movements of the needle barfor adjusting the wedge to a greater needle spacing position and thenreturning it to set spacing position.

5. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles movablymounted on the bar for adjustment toward and from each other, a supporton the machine frame, a spacing wedge slidably mounted on said supportin advance of the needlesA Afor horizontal movement toward and from thieneedles for adjustment to different needle spacing positions, and meansfor movingl said wedge in reverse directions, including means slidablewith the wedge and operative on alternate movements of the needle barfor sliding the wedge a greater degree for a greater needle spacingaction and then releasing the wedge for automatic return to normalspacing position. p

6. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles movablymounted on the bar for adjustment toward and from each other, a -needlespacer arranged for movement in a line at right angles to the path ofmovement of the needles, and means for adjusting said needle spaceralong such line to any one of a plurality of spacing positions.

7. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles movablymounted on the bar for adjustment toward and from each other, a slidableand rotatable support, a needle spacer slidable on said support, meansfor slidably adjusting said support to adjust said spacer to a pluralityof adjusting positions,v and means operative by rotary movement of thesupport for indicating the extent oi' adjustment of the spacer.r

$2. vIn a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needlesmovably supported on the bar for adjustment toward and from each other,a slidable and rotatable support, a needle spacer slidable on saidsupport, means for slid-ably adjusting said. support to adjust thespacerl to a variety of spacing positions, an indicator operated byrotary movement of the support for indicating the eX- tent of adjustmentof the spacer, means for simultaneously sliding and rotating thesupport, and means actuated by the movements of the needle bar foradvancing and retracting the spacer independent of said support.

9. ln a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles mountedon the bar for spreading adjustments, a needle spreader, a sliding shaftsupporting said spreader, means for automatically retracting thespreader, a rotatably and slidably movable shaft for moving the spreaderforward to spacing positions, and indicating means rotatable with thelatter-named shaft i0. In a. sewing machine, needle mechanism includingreciprocatory and oscillatory needles, a movable auton'iaticallyretractible needle spreader, and mechanism for shifting the spreader toneedle spreading position and releasing it for retraction atpredetermined periods, said mechanism embodying a spring-pressed slidingbut nonrotatable member and a rotatable member having a series of spacedprojections whereby it may be turned, one of said members being providedwith a series of alternately disposed deep and shallow notches and theother of said membters having projections to alternately engage saiddeep and shallow notches, and a trip device yieldable in one directionand fixed against movement in the reverse direction for coaction withsaid spaced projections of said rotatable member.

ll. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating` needle bar, two needlesmovably mounted on the bar for spreading action, a wedge for spreadingthe needles, a sliding support for the wedge on which the wedge isslidably mounted, means acting on said support for niormally holding thewedge retracted and returning it to normal position, and means actingonthe wedge independent of the support for adjusting the wedge against theresistance of the first-named means into any one of a plurality ofneedle spreading positions.

12. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles mountedon the bar for spreading motion, a sliding wedge for spreading theneedles, means for retracting the wedge, a rotatable sleeve having aspiral groove, and means for rotating said sleeve and engaging saidgroove to slide said sleeve forward as it rotates for adjusting thewedge into any one of a plurality of needle spreading positions.

13, In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles mountedon the bar for spreading motion, a needle spreading wedge, a slidinglstem supporting the wedge, spring means acting on said stem for normallyholding the wedge retracted, and feeding means for feeding the stem andwedge forward against the resistance of the spring means to dispose thewedge in any one of a plurality of needle spreading positions.

it. ln a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, a pair of needlesmovably mounted on the bar for spreading action, a wedge for spreadingthe needles, a sliding support for the wedge, means acting on saidsupport for normally holding the wedge retracted, a rotatable andlongitudinally movable feed sleeve for adjusting the wedge forwardly andpermitting of its retraction, and means for communicating rotary andlongitudinal motion to said feed sleeve.

15. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles movablysupported by the bar for spreading action, a wedge for spreading theneedles, a sliding support for the wedge, spring means acting on saidsupport for normally holding the wedge re-` tracted and opposing its forvard movement, a rotatable and longitudinally slidable feed sleeve forfeeding the wedge forward and permitting its retraction, means forrotating and sliding said sleeve, and means ojierative on certainmovements of the needle bar for shifting the wedge forward to a spacingposition greater than that to which it is adjusted by the sleeve` '16.ln a sewing machine, a recipriicating needle bar, two needles movablymounted on the bar for spacing adjustments, a spacing wedge slidablyadjustable to different nee vle spacing positions, a sliding stem cari,ig said wedge, spring i'neans acting on the stein for normally holdingthe wedge retracted and opposing its forward n'iovement, a rotary'sliding feed sleeve for adjusting the wedge fori'vardly and permittingot its retraction, means for rotating and sliding said sleeve, and adevice composed of two relatively movable members adapted to move thewedge forward a greater distance than that to which it is adjusted bythe sleeve, one of said members being` positively operated by the needlemechanism on a predetermined movement thereof.

if?. ln a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needlescarried by the needle bar and adjustable for s'iacing action` a spreaderfor adjusting the i'ieedles, a slid-- ing stem carrying the spreader,spring means acting on the stem for holding the spreader retracted andopposing its forward movement, a rotatable and sliding sleeve forvariably n'ioving the spreader forward, means for rotating and slidingsaid sleeve, a ratchet disk fixed to thestem and haring alternatelyarranged shallow :ind deep'grooifes, a coacting ratchet disk looselymounted on the stem and having projections to engage said grooves andalso provided with contact surfaces, and a contact member movable withthe needle bar for engaging the contact surfaces on the loose ratchetdisk in certain move-ments of said bar for turning the loose ratchetdisk with relation to the iXed ratchet disk.

18. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles movablymo-unted on the bar for spacing adjustments, a spreader for spreadingthe needles, a sliding springretracted stem carrying the spreader, arotary sliding sleeve for moving the spreader forward, operating meansfor rotating and sliding said sleeve, and indicating means actuated bysaid operating means for indicatinoadjustments of the spreader.

19. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, a pair of needlesmounted on the bar tor spreading motions, a spring-retracted spreaderadapted to be positivelyv moved forward to different needle spreadingpositions, means operative for positively moving the spreader forwardand permitting of its retraction, two relatively movable members havingratchet surfaces of different depths for moving .the spreader forward agreater distance than that to which it is adjusted by the operatingmeans yand permitting of its subsequent return to the position to whichit is adjusted by the operating means, and means actuated by the needlebar on predetermined motions `for actuating said ratchet surfaces. f

20, In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles carriedby the needle bar tor.spreading adjustments, means for spreading saidneedles, a piercer bar, a apriiig-retracted plunger 'arried by thepiercer liar, and means operative on a motion ot' the needle bar lordepressing the plunger and then releasing the same.

2l. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles mountedon the needle bar ior spacing adjustments, means ior spacing saidneedles, a piercer, a springretracted plunger connected with thepiercer, a lever for depressing the plunger, a contact carried by theneedle bar, and a contact carried by the lever adapted to be engaged onthe downward movement of the needle bar for actuating said plunger'.

22. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles carriedby the bar and adjustable for spacing motions, means ior spacing theneedles, a piercer, a springretracted plunger connected with thepiercer, a pivoted lever ior depressing the plunger, a spring dog on thelever, and a contact carried by the V.needle bar for cooperation withsaid dog so las to successively depress and release the lerer on thedownward movement nl? the ,needle ...en

23. In a sewing machine, reciprocatory and laterally oscillatoryneedles, means for variably spreading the needles, a piercer, and meansactuatedv by a part of the needle mechanism and governed by the degreeof spreading motion of the needles for depressing the piercer to varyingdegrees depen-dent upon the extent of spread of the needles.

24. In a sewing machine, a reciprocatory needle bar, relative-lyadjustable needle carriers on the bar, a pair oi oscillatory needlescarried by the needle carriers, a reciprocatory piercer carrying bar, areciprocatory piercer mounted to reciprocate on the piercer carryingbar, a variably adjustable spreader for variably spreading the needlecarriers, and means for actuating the piercer, said means being governedby the adjustment of the needle carriers for varying the degree ofmovement of the piercer proportionate to the degree of spread of theneedles.

25. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism including reciprocatory andoscillatory needles, a piercer actuated by said needle mechanism, amovable automatically retractible nee-dle spreader supported by a fixedpart of the machine, and mechanism for shifting the spreader forward toneedle spreading position and releasing it for retraction atpredetermined periods, said mechanism operating in each cycle of actionon the initial downward movement of4 the piercer andneedles to leave thespreader in normal retracted position, on the ensuing upward motion ofthe needles to move the spreader to needle spreading position, on asecond downward movement of the needles to maintain the spreader inneedle spreading position, and on the ensuing upward movement of theneedles to release the needle spreader for retraction and reset theparts for a repetition ot the above-described operation.

2G. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism including reciprocatory andoscilla-toryv needles, a piercer actuated by said needle mechanism, amovable automatically retractible needle spreader supported by a fixedpart of the machine, and mechanism for shifting the spreader forward toneedle spreading position and releasing it for retraction atpredetermined periods, said mechanism embodying a spring-pressed slidingbut non-rotatable member and a rotatable member having a series oitspaced projections whereby it may be turned, one of said members beingprovided with a series oil alternately disposed ,deep and shallownotches and the other of said members having projections to alternatelyengage said deep and shallow notches, and a pivoted spring pressed tripdevice yieldable in one direction and fixed against movement in thereverse direction for coactio'n with said spaced projections'of saidrotatable member,

27. In a sewing machine, a pair oi reciprocatory and laterallyoscillatory needles, a support carried by the machine head and arrangedin advance oi the needles, a spreader carrie-d by said support andmovable horizontally toward and from the needles and between the same,means for manually adjusting the spreader to vary the normal positionthereof relative to the needles, and automatic means, actuated by themachine mechanism, for periodically advancing and retracting thespreader.

28. In a sewing machine, a. pair of reciprocatory and laterallyoscillatory needles, a support pivotally mounted on the machine head inadvance ot the needles and adjustable so as to be thrown into and out ofop-erative position, aspreader carried by said support and movable in ahorizontal plane toward and from the needles and between the same, meansfor manually adjusting said spreader on said support Jfor varying thenormal relationship between the spreader and the needles, and .meansoperative by the machine mechanism for automatically advancing andretracting the spreader at predetermined periods.

29. In a sewing machine, reciprocatory and laterally oscillatoryneedles, a spreader arranged in advance 'of and movable on a horizontalline toward and trom the needles, a sliding rod carrying said spreader,means acting on the rod tor retracting the spreader, means tor adjustingthe rod to vary the normal. position oft; the spreader with relation tothe needles, and means coacting with said retracting means 'forautomatically advancing and retracting the spreader at predeterminedperiods.

30. In a sewing machine, reepirocatory and laterally oscillatoryneedles, a spreader, means normally operative ier retracting thespreader, two cooperating members having clutch teeth operative underrelative movements of said members for alternately advancing andpern'iitting retraction of: the spreader, and means operative by themachine mechanism for imparting relative moven'ient to said members atpredetermined periods.

3l.. In a sewing machine, reciprocatory and laterally oscillatoryneedles, a spreader, a sliding rod connected therewith, a spring actingon the rod tor normally retracting the spreader, a rotatable and.longitudinally slidable sleeve engaging' the rod, means for rotatingand simultaneously sliding said sleeve, a clutch member rotatable withand slidable on the rod, 'a second clutch member rotatable on the rod,said clutch members being provided with clutch surfaces operative onmovements of the latter-named clutch member for alternately advancingand retracting the spreader, and means operative by the sewing machinemechanism for periodically operating` the latter-named clutch member.

32. In a sewing machine, reciprocatory and laterally oscillatoryneedles, a spreader, a sliding rod carrying said spreader, a springacting on the rod for normally retracting the spreader, means foradjusting the rod to vary the working relationship between the spreaderand needles, a clutch member rotatable with and slidable on the rod,said clutch member having alternately disposed deep and shallow notches,a clutch member rotatable on the rod and provided with projections forengagement with said notches, spaced contacts on the latter-named clutchmember, and a pivotally mounted spring pressed trip device for coactionwith said projections on said clutch member for operating the same toadvance and retract the spreader at predetermined periods.

33. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism embdoying reciprocatory andlaterally oscillatory needles, a contact carried by said needlemechanism, automatic needle spreading mechanism, a piercer, adepressible spring retracted plunger carrying the piercer, and a contactcarried by said plunger adaptedto be engaged by the firstnamed contacton the downward movement of the needles and to slide over said contacton the upward movement of the needles.

34. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism embodying reciprocatory andlaterally oscillatory needles, automatic spreading mechanism for theneedles, a reciprocatory piercer actuating bar, a spring retractedplunger carried by said bar, a piercer carried by the plunger, a.depressible lever engageable with the plunger, a contact carried by saidlever, and a coacting contact on the needle mechanism variablyengageable with the first-named contact to depress the piercer carryingplunger to different degrees dependent upon the spreading motion of theneedles.

35. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism embodying reciprocatory andlaterally oscillatory needles, automatic spreading mechanism forvariably spacing the needles, a contact carried by the needle mechanism,a spring retracted plunger, a piercer carried by the plunger, and acontact on the plunger operative to be engaged by the lirst-namedcontact on the downward movement of the needles and to wipe over thesame on the upward movement of the needles, said contacts having avariable actuating engagement to depress the plunger to differentdegrees depende-nt upon the degree oi spreading motion oil the needles.

36. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism embodying reciprocatory andlaterally oscillatory needles, means for variably spreading the needles,a contact carried by the needle mechanism and movable laterally with theneedles, a spring retracted plunger, a piercer carried by said plunger,a lever for depressing the plunger, and a contact carried by said leverand arranged to be engaged by the first-named contact on the downwardmovement of the needles and to wipe over the same on the upward movementof the needles, said lever contact being variably engaged by thefirst-named contact for depressing the plunger to different degreesaccording to the degree of spreading motion of the needles.

37. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism embodying reciprocatory andlaterally oscillatory needles, mechanism for variably spreading theneedles, a piercer, piercer carA rying means mounted independentlyv ofthel needles and its spreading mechanism, and Contact devices carried bythe needle mechanism and piercer carryingvmeans respectively, engageableon the downward movement of the needles only for actuating the piercer,said contacts having a variable degree of engagement for depressing thepiercer to variable degrees dependent upon the' degree of spreadingmotion of the needles.

38. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two relativelymovable needles carried by the bar, a spreader for variably spacing theneedles,l a slidable and nonrotatable support for the spreader, spreaderadjusting means on said support comprising a rotatable member movablewith the spreader toward and from the needles and a spring-pressednon-rotatable member slidably movable toward and from the firstnamedrotatable member, one of said members having alternately arranged setsof deep and shallow notches and the other of said members havingprojections to engage said notches, and a tripv device movable with theneedle bar for periodically imparting a partial rotation to saidrotatable member.

39. In a sewing machine, a reciprocatory needle bar, two needles carriedby the bar and mounted for movement toward and from each other, aspreader arranged in advance of the needles and movable on asubstantially horizontal line toward and between and away from theneedles for spac- `working action of the needles.

40. In a sewing machine, a reciprocatory needle bar, two needles carriedby the bar 'and mounted for movement toward and from each other, aspreader arranged in advance of the needles and movable on asubstantially horizontal line toward and between and away from theneedles for spacing the needles and permitting retraction thereof, meansLfor advancing the spreader from a normally retracted position in whichit is most remote from the needles to any one of a plurality ofvadvanced set retracted positions in which it is arranged for startingaction closer to the needles, and means for advancing the spreader for aspreading action from any set retracted and starting position andreturning it to such position on ,alternate working motions of theneedles.

41. In a sewing machine, a reciproca-tory needle bar, two needlescarried by the bar and mounted for movement toward and from each other,a spreader supported in advance of the needles and slidably mounted foradjustment in a substantially horizontal plane to an advanced positiontoward and between the needles and to a retracted position more remotetherefrom for spacing. the needles and permitting retraction thereof,manually operable means for slidably adjusting the spreader toward theneedles from a normally retracted position in which it is most remotefrom the needles to any one of a plurality of advanced retracted andstarting positions in which it is closer to the needles, a stationarymember coupled to the spreader, a rotatable member, said stationary androtatable members having surfaces operative on predetermined successivepartial revolutions of the rotary member for alternately shifting thespreader forwardly to spreading position from any one of said setretracted and starting positions, and means actuated by the needlemechanism for periodically operating said rotatable member. y

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

MANUEL HUMBERTO PREZ.

